


Chain Termination

by xYoSa



Series: Quantum Fidelity Decay [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: (sort of), Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, D/s, Dom Bruce Banner, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, M/M, Rope Bondage, Safeword Use, Scene Gone Wrong, Shibari, Sub Tony Stark, and he gets one, more like scene gone fluffy/feely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:54:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24599350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xYoSa/pseuds/xYoSa
Summary: Tony says he’s ready to try some light bondage with Bruce, and Bruce is excited to take this step with him. But when they begin their scene, Bruce is suddenly hit with how significant it is that Tony is trustinghimof all people with something like this.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark
Series: Quantum Fidelity Decay [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778239
Comments: 18
Kudos: 105





	Chain Termination

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Trammel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trammel/gifts).



> For Trammel, who was super supportive and encouraging as I wrote part one of this series! If it wasn’t for her fic [Dark Memories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2387966/chapters/5275964), I never would have been inspired to write science boyfriends fics in the first place. Happy (somewhat belated) birthday, Trammel!! <3
> 
> Big thank you to [ellewrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellewrites/pseuds/ellewrites) for beta reading!
> 
> P.S. You don’t need to read part one of this series to understand this story, but it will help if you want to have some background about Bruce and Tony’s relationship here.

Bruce comes out of the bathroom after his shower, naked except for the towel he’s rubbing over his wet hair. It’s Sunday morning and he’s expecting Tony to arrive any minute with croissants from the French bakery on the ground floor of the tower.

They’ve only been dating for about five weeks, but their busy schedules don’t always let them see each other as often as they’d like. So they decided early on that barring some Avengers-level threat, Sunday mornings would be set aside just for them.

When he lowers the towel from his head, he’s surprised to see that Tony has already arrived and is lying on his bed scrolling on his StarkPad, with a box from the bakery sitting on the night table beside him. 

Tony looks up from his reading. “Hey, sexy.” He blatantly eyes Bruce’s naked form up and down.

Bruce tosses his towel onto a chair with a smile and flops onto the bed beside his boyfriend, pulling him over for a kiss. When he pulls away, his eyes inadvertently flick to the screen of Tony’s StarkPad, and he does a double take when he sees the images on it.

It’s a sex toy website, and the current page is displaying an array of wrist restraints and ropes of all sorts.

Tony doesn’t hide his StarkPad when he notices Bruce looking. He just turns to him and gives him a sincere look.

“I wanna try it.”

Bruce pauses and looks back at him. “You do?”

“Definitely,” replies Tony, a smile breaking over his face.

Bruce smiles back and reaches up a hand to cup Tony’s cheek, leaning in to give him another kiss.

“So do I. If you’re sure.”

Ever since Tony told him a few weeks ago that he wanted to take their activities further by trying some of the things that his shitty ex-boyfriend had done to him in the bedroom—things that should have been fun and felt good, but decidedly did not once the man decided to abuse Tony’s trust in him—Bruce has been patiently waiting for Tony to bring it up again. He wouldn’t dream of pushing him to try anything before he was ready; he would never do anything to screw up this relationship or make Tony at all uncomfortable.

And besides, the sex is already unbelievably fulfilling and rewarding without the inclusion of restraints or paddles or any of the other toys that Bruce was used to playing with in many of his previous relationships. Tony’s total submission, his trust in Bruce, and his willingness— _ eagerness _ , really—to give up control to him every time they make love…it’s intoxicating. It’s a gift Bruce truly doesn’t deserve. Tony is literally the best thing that’s ever happened to him in his life.

Still, he would be lying if he said he didn’t daydream about certain other things sometimes. Like slowly, methodically trussing Tony up with elegantly-knotted ropes, binding his arms behind his back or over his head, and sucking him off slowly and torturously, bringing him to the edge over and over again until he’s so desperate for release that he practically forgets his own name.

Bruce’s cock twitches at the thought. Tony notices.

“Oh, I’m sure,” he replies with a knowing smile. “And you are too, I see.”

“Shit,” says Bruce with a shy smile, embarrassed in spite of himself. He looks away from Tony’s amused face and nods toward the StarkPad. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Tony wriggles a little closer to Bruce and props up the tablet so they can both see it. “Let’s see what we have here.”

* * *

Two days later, an unmarked box is delivered to Bruce’s floor. He signs for it and goes straight to his bedroom to open it.

He and Tony have decided on shibari rope bondage for their first time. Tony has never tried it, but when he found out Bruce was experienced in it, he was eager to give it a go. Plus, this type of bondage was never something that Tony’s ex had done with him (Gene was mostly into plain metal cuffs) so he said he was reasonably sure that none of his bad memories would resurface at an inopportune time during their scene.

Bruce opens the box and pulls out the extensive length of bright red rope. His skin prickles at the sight of it, and he feels his cock already starting to harden in his pants.

They agreed that Bruce would only restrain Tony’s arms the first time. That still leaves a lot of options open, however, and Bruce is getting more aroused the more he thinks about it. To have his partner tied up and at his mercy is something Bruce never dreamed would be possible again since his little green problem began. And something he  _ certainly _ never dreamed he’d be able to do with  _ Tony. _

Yep, he sure lucked out the day he caught Tony Stark’s attention. He’s still not sure what he ever did to deserve this.

He wraps a hand around one loose end of the rope, imagining how it will look against Tony’s skin. Tony is coming over in a few hours, and they’ve set aside the entire evening to be together. So Bruce resists the urge to jerk off to the fantasies running through his mind. Instead, he lies back on his bed and closes his eyes to plan out the perfect scene for him and Tony, including contingencies in case Tony changes his mind about the ropes tonight.

After a while, he gets up to eat a light supper and have a shower. Every inch of his skin feels hypersensitive under the spray of hot water, and he can barely stand still. When in Tony’s presence, he’s very good at remaining calm and collected, able to pin Tony with nothing more than a look or some softly-spoken words. But before a scene, when he’s preparing his supplies and tending to his personal grooming, he always feels so worked up, excited, and just—more  _ alive _ than he can remember feeling in a very long time.

It’s become an unspoken tradition that Bruce waits for Tony across from the elevator at their agreed meeting time. The ding of the elevator door before it opens always makes Bruce’s stomach lurch with barely-contained excitement. And when the door actually opens, revealing Tony…well. Bruce always breathes a contented sigh he didn’t even realize he was holding, as suddenly all becomes right with the world. Not even his lingering worries about the Other Guy can touch him in those moments.

He’s dressed casually tonight in faded jeans and one of Tony’s old T-shirts, his feet bare. Right on schedule, the elevator bell dings and the door slides open, revealing Tony, who’s also dressed in jeans, his long-sleeved shirt sporting the logo of some band Bruce has never heard of. Tony has been trying to get Bruce up to speed on all the pop culture he missed out on while on the run (and, if he’s honest, before he went on the run) but it’s slow-going.

Tony steps out of the elevator, the bulge of his erection already visible on the front of his pants. Looks like Bruce won’t have to worry about whether Tony has changed his mind about tonight. He’ll check anyway, of course; he knows how obedient and acquiescent Tony gets when he submits, and the possibility of him agreeing to something he’s not entirely on board with is something that Bruce is always cognizant of in the back of his mind.

He takes Tony by his upper arms and backs him up against the wall by the elevator so he can kiss him properly. He presses his body hard against Tony’s, in contrast to the soft, deep kiss. Tony is nearly panting by the time Bruce finally pulls away, and the loving look he gives Bruce when their eyes meet really shouldn’t be enough to make Bruce’s heart flutter like this, but it  _ does. _ Every time.

“Hi,” Tony breathes.

“Hi,” Bruce says back, taking a small step backward. This is normally the point where he would slip into his dominant role and begin the scene, but tonight will be a little different. He wants Tony clear-headed until after Bruce tells him what he has planned.

Bruce turns to head down the hall, nodding at Tony to follow him. They reach the bedroom and Bruce enters, holding the door open and watching Tony closely as Tony enters after him. Bruce has wound the rope into a loose coil and laid it out in plain view on the bed, and Tony stops short as soon as he sees it. He stares, unable to take his eyes off the bright red cord. Bruce doesn’t detect any signs of nervousness on his face, which is a good start.

“You can pick it up, if you want,” he tells Tony.

Tony looks away from the rope and at Bruce, who gives him an encouraging nod. Tony seems emboldened by that and approaches the bed, picking up the rope and sitting down on the edge of the mattress to examine it. Bruce sits beside him.

“It’s thinner than I thought,” Tony says, giving the rope a little tug.

Bruce nods. “It won’t dig into your skin, if that’s what you’re wondering,” He picks up one end of the rope and wraps it several times around his hand to demonstrate. “Everywhere it’s wrapped, it will be coiled four or five times to make a thick band, like this, so it won’t be uncomfortable.” He lets go of the rope and scoots behind Tony on the bed. “Here’s what I was thinking.”

With his fingers, he traces a line horizontally across the middle of Tony’s back. “A few coils around your chest, about this height. Then the two ends will come up your back…” His fingers move up Tony’s spine toward his head, enjoying the little shiver that Tony fails to suppress as Bruce’s fingers pass gently through his hair toward the top of his head. 

“And finally…” He puts his arms around Tony to gently take his hands in his own. He lifts Tony’s arms up and bends them back so his wrists are crossed and just about touching the top of his head. “I’ll tie the ends to your wrists, here. Normally, with this tie, your hands would be all the way behind your head, like this.” 

He demonstrates by pulling Tony’s hands further down until they’re touching the base of his neck. His arms are pulled much more taut and his upper arms are touching the sides of his head. 

“But I’ll keep it looser tonight. I want it to feel a bit like it does when I pin your wrists over your head with my hands. I think it’s a good idea to start with a pose that’s already familiar.” 

Bruce releases Tony’s wrists and crawls back to the edge of the bed to sit beside him, turning to face him.

“What do you think about that?”

Tony turns to look at Bruce. His cheeks are flushed and he looks even more aroused than he did when he stepped off the elevator sporting that prominent hard-on. Definitely a good sign.

“I’m thinking…that as usual, you’ve thought of everything.” He gives Bruce a warm smile and leans in to kiss him. “You’re so good to me,” he adds softly, looking away like he often does when he says something a little too real. Then he looks back at him with a playful grin and adds, “I’m also thinking, what the hell are we waiting for, let’s get this party started already.”

Bruce huffs a laugh and stands up. “Watch it,” he jokingly warns. “I don’t recall signing up for a bratty sub.”

Tony smiles to himself but stays silent. Bruce holds out his hand for the rope, and Tony readily gives it to him. Another good sign that he’s telling the truth about being excited to get started.

There’s just one more thing to do first. Bruce tosses the coil of rope on the bed near Tony and moves to stand directly in front of him. Tony’s eyes lift to meet Bruce’s a little shyly, but Bruce gently takes his chin in his hand to tilt his face upward to look at him properly. This is important. 

“This is a big step,” he says. “And I know you’re excited. But that could change once we start. So I want you to promise me: if you feel uncomfortable or want to stop, for any reason—no matter how much fun you think I’m having, or how badly you want to power through—you’ll use your safeword.”

Tony gazes up at Bruce, no fear or hesitation written anywhere on his face. Just trust. So much trust it almost physically hurts.

“I promise,” he whispers.

Bruce holds his gaze a little longer, looking for signs of doubt, but there are none. Tony’s eyes are as sincere as they always are when he and Bruce get together like this, as he starts to let his carefully-guarded walls come down for a little while.

He nods once. “Okay, love.”

Tony’s pupils dilate some more at the term of endearment. God, those  _ eyes.  _ Bruce could sit and stare at them all night.

He’ll have time for that after. Now, it’s time for his favorite part. He takes several steps backward and crosses his arms, arranging his face and posture to be stern and commanding. Tony’s back straightens a little as he watches, transfixed by Bruce’s seamless metamorphosis. Bruce in turn can clearly see Tony undergoing his own transition to a more submissive state, his eyes taking on a slightly glazed quality and his lips parting just a bit as he relaxes into this now-familiar role. It’s beautiful to watch. 

God. Tony makes it so easy to take charge of him like this. Most people would never guess such a thing about Tony Stark. Bruce is always reminded in these moments of what a special privilege it is to be able to see this side of him. This side that no one else has gotten to see in almost twenty years, since he showed it to the wrong person and suffered the consequences. No matter what Tony and Bruce may get up to in the future as their relationship evolves, Bruce’s main goal is to never do anything to make Tony regret showing his vulnerability to him.

“Stand up,” he orders in a soft voice, “and strip. Then kneel on the bed with your back to me.”

Tony doesn’t hesitate. He stands up, grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head at the same time as he kicks off his shoes. Bruce stares openly at Tony’s body as he strips, taking in all the angles, the muscles, the curve of his perfect ass. He feels his body temperature spike as he watches, and his own clothes suddenly feel hot and restrictive. He wasn’t planning on getting fully undressed tonight, but at this rate, he may have to make some on-the-fly changes later. He doesn’t recall facing this problem with any of his previous partners. But then, none of his previous partners looked like  _ that. _

The last of Tony’s clothes are shed, leaving him standing fully nude in front of Bruce, cock already rock-hard, expression confident despite the obvious power exchange caused by Bruce still being fully clothed. With a little quirk of a smile that Bruce can’t help but return, Tony turns around and crawls onto the bed, kneeling in the middle of it to wait for what’s coming next. Again, Bruce notes, there’s no hesitation there whatsoever.

This is going to be so much fun.

He approaches the bed and climbs on behind Tony. He doesn’t touch him yet; he knows how much better it will be if he makes Tony wait for it. But he does lean forward to speak quietly into his ear.

“I’m going to enjoy tying you up.” He smiles at the little gasp that Tony lets out at that. “Hands bound, all trussed up for me to play with however I want.”

The sound of Tony’s low groan goes straight to Bruce’s cock, and when it ends with a little plaintive ‘please,’ it’s all Bruce can do not to groan himself. He’s very glad that he insisted early on that Tony never hold back with him, that he always express himself naturally in their scenes. For one thing, Tony deserves to have this safe place where he can switch off all his filters and feel perfectly safe. For another, it’s sexy as hell.

“Begging already,” he observes with a little huff. “I think I’ll be hearing a lot of that tonight. In fact I’m planning on it.”

“Fuck,” Tony whispers, as his breathing starts to pick up.

“You want that, don’t you? You like when I only give you what you want when  _ I _ want to.”

“Fuck,  _ yes,” _ Tony all but moans.

“Good.”

Bruce picks up the rope, but doesn’t do anything with it yet. He wants to build Tony up some more, get him to the point where he’s aching and truly desperate to be dominated by Bruce.

“I remember saying something to you during our very first scene together.” He speaks quietly, forcing Tony to focus fully on him. “You were on your back, and I was sitting over your hips, looking down at you. And right before you made yourself come, I said, next time we do something like this, both your hands will be up by your head. And it’ll be  _ my _ hand making you come as fast, or  _ slow, _ as I want.”

The way Tony’s breath hitches on the word ‘slow’ spurs Bruce on. Fuck, Tony’s always so  _ responsive _ . Even though Bruce knows that in their scenes, Tony is the one reacting to Bruce’s words and actions, sometimes to Bruce it feels the other way around. Tony just makes it so effortless for Bruce to take on this role.

“That next time is going to be tonight,” Bruce continues. “There will be a few differences here from what I said back then, though. One”—he lightly traces a finger along the back of each of Tony’s arms, enjoying the way he squirms slightly at the light touch despite his obvious effort to remain still—“I’m going to have you all bound up this time, just for me. And two”—he leans forward again to whisper into Tony’s ear—“when I decide you’re allowed to come? It won’t be my  _ hand _ bringing you there.”

Tony expels his breath in a burst and lets out a ragged “ _ Jesus fuck.”  _ He keeps his head obediently facing forward like he knows Bruce wants, but it’s clearly not easy. His whole body is on edge, tense, practically vibrating with excitement.

Bruce finally touches him, nudging his arms lightly. Tony hisses with pleasure at even that small touch. Fuck, he is not making it easy for Bruce to go slow like he wants. 

“Lift your arms a little,” he says, taking care not to let his own excitement and impatience show through too much in his voice. Tony does, and Bruce reaches under them to begin coiling the rope several times around his chest, just below his arc reactor.

“This is a simple tie, for your first time,” he tells him as he works. “But if you like it, we can try something more complex next time. They can get very intricate. The rope interweaving down the whole length of your arms…” He ghosts the fingers of one hand down the back of Tony’s arm again, to help him imagine it. “Or immobilizing your legs in whatever position I choose, so I can tease you as much as I want, as long as I want.”

He knows that even if they never do take it to that level, just describing it to Tony is enough to get him going.

And he’s right. 

“Christ, Bruce,” Tony breathes, his voice cracking. “You keep saying stuff like that and this is gonna be over before it starts.”

Bruce chuckles at that, loving how easy it is to push Tony’s buttons with just words. He finishes wrapping the rope around Tony’s chest and brings the two ends to the middle of his back, tying them together just once so the knot won’t be uncomfortable when Tony lies on his back.

When he’s done, he backs up a bit while keeping hold of the ends of the rope. 

“Now, turn a little this way so you can lie back on the pillow.”

Tony obeys and lies down, while Bruce ensures that the two ropes run straight up his back before he settles onto the mattress.

Tony’s gorgeous, naked form is stretched out on the bed in front of Bruce now, hands at his sides, the coils of red rope around his chest contrasting beautifully with the ghostly blue of his arc reactor. Bruce takes a moment to just look him up and down, taking everything in, before meeting his eyes again and getting back to business.

He moves to straddle Tony’s hips, just like he did during their first scene together all those weeks ago. He gives him a reassuring smile before what he says next.

“Time for your hands.”

His words come out softly, but are firm enough not to be mistaken for a request. It’s been his experience with Tony so far that the more firm and unequivocal his orders sound, the more confident Tony feels about obeying unquestioningly, being certain that Bruce is well in control of things. Sure enough, Tony immediately crosses his wrists and raises them up so they’re resting on the pillow above his head, giving Bruce a calm and trusting look as he does so.

The sight brings a lump to Bruce’s throat, and he’s not entirely sure why. He swallows and tries to put it out of his mind as he smiles down at Tony and leans forward to begin wrapping the rope around his wrists in an X pattern.

“God, you’re beautiful like this, you know,” he praises as he works. “And always so good for me.”

Tony bites his lip and gives a shy smile at the praise. Bruce never sees that expression on him outside of a scene; Tony is always so confident and self-possessed the rest of the time. Seeing him like this makes Bruce’s stomach twist with…something. Some long-forgotten feeling like from a dream, or another life. He pushes it away to focus entirely on Tony.

He finishes off the tie with a quick-release knot, which will allow him to just pull the end of the rope to undo it if Tony decides at any point that he wants out. He straightens back up to admire his work. It’s a simple, minimalist tie, but it looks absolutely perfect on Tony.

“Looking good,” he says with a smile. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’m going to faint or explode or  _ die _ as soon as you put your hands on me.” The words tumble out of Tony’s mouth like he couldn’t have held them back if he’d tried.

Bruce’s eyebrows rise. Well then. He may be the one giving the orders here, but he’s not about to ignore the need practically oozing off of Tony.

But then Tony’s expression sobers a bit and he adds with a soft smile, “Seriously, though. I’m good. I trust you, big guy.”

_ Big guy.  _

Bruce stares at Tony. Those words, Tony’s fond nickname for the Other Guy, suddenly make everything he didn’t want to think too hard about before breathtakingly clear to him.

This—this is so significant, what’s happening here. Tony, willingly putting himself in Bruce’s control like this, at his  _ mercy, _ without the slightest possibility of danger even occurring to him.  _ No one _ who knows what Bruce really is has ever put this much trust in him, not even close. When it comes to Bruce—now that he comes as a package deal with his alter ego—people just don’t  _ do _ that.

Prior to the Hulk, Bruce liked to think that the people in his life considered him a trustworthy person, but afterward…well. No matter how trustworthy he may think he is these days, he’s under no illusions about what others think. He’s seen the looks, the fear, from his friends and acquaintances when they find themselves in any kind of vulnerable or defenseless position near him. So hearing that casual ‘I trust you’ from Tony, when he’s in a much  _ more _ vulnerable position right now? It’s more than he ever expected. Tony’s trust…it means everything, as much as or even more than when he says ‘I love you.’ It’s…it’s Bruce’s wildest dreams come true.

And Tony. This is incredibly significant for him, too. Not just to be trusting Bruce, but trusting  _ anyone.  _ Lying there helpless, and  _ enjoying _ it, nothing approaching doubt occurring to him at all. After all those things his ex-boyfriend did to him when he had him tied up…And not to even  _ mention  _ his terrible experience in captivity in Afghanistan. This has never occurred to Bruce before. How can Tony trust anyone, much less Bruce, after all  _ that? _

“Bruce?”

Bruce almost doesn’t realize what’s happening until Tony says his name. He blinks and feels tears starting to form in his eyes. What the fuck.

“What is it?” asks Tony, concerned.

Bruce can’t deny it now; Tony can clearly see something is wrong. But how does Bruce explain it? He tries to take a breath.

“It’s you…” he begins, “how you’re looking at me—” A choked sob rises in his throat, cutting him off. 

Tony frowns. “How I’m looking at you?”

Bruce nods. Jesus Christ, what is  _ wrong _ with him? He needs to pull himself together and explain before Tony gets really concerned.

“Just”—he takes a breath—”so much... _ trust _ , and—I don’t know how you can—”

A look of sad understanding crosses Tony’s face.

“Aw, babe. Of course I trust you.”

That simple admission is almost enough to make Bruce totally lose his composure. He looks up, away from Tony.

”Just give me a second.” 

_ Fuck. Pull yourself together, _ he mentally shouts at himself. He takes a few more breaths to calm himself (he’s an old pro at that).  _ It’s okay _ , he thinks,  _ I can do this _ . 

“It’s alright, love. I’m okay,” he says. He hopes he sounds more convincing to Tony than he does to himself.

But this ridiculous display on his part must have distracted him from watching for signs of discomfort from Tony, because suddenly Tony does something that Bruce wasn’t expecting.

“Hey, Bruce,” he says softly, making Bruce look at him again. Tony’s lips are quirked in a small, kind smile. “Jericho.”

His safeword. 

Despite how distraught he feels, Bruce responds reflexively. He climbs off Tony and scoots forward to untie his hands. The quick-release knot means it only takes a few seconds.

“Are you okay?” he asks thickly as he unwinds the rope from Tony’s wrists. 

It’s always been his policy never to demand an explanation when his sub uses their safeword, and he won’t this time either. But this is confusing. Tony was  _ smiling _ when he said it, so why—

“Oh, yeah,” Tony assures him. “But  _ you’re _ not, Bruciebear. We can do this some other time. Right now, I just want out of this so I can put my arms around you.”

His hands are free now, so he sits up and takes Bruce’s face in his hands to give him a soft, sweet kiss that nearly has him choking back tears again. He doesn’t pull away after, he just rests his forehead against Bruce’s and wraps his arms around him, one hand in his hair and the other around his back, pulling him close. He looks emotional now, too.

“How could you think you don’t deserve my trust?” he whispers, pulling back just a little to look Bruce in the eye. “I trust you more than anyone.  _ Anyone _ .”

“It’s—it’s not that,” Bruce says, swiping irritably at a stray tear. “Not exactly. It’s— _ I _ know I can be trusted. I know I’ve got things under control now. I just…don’t expect other people to believe that. It’s like…I constantly feel like a reformed ex-convict. Someone who knows he’s reformed and won’t commit any more crimes. But the people around him? They still hide their valuables when he comes over, and would never leave him alone with their kids.” He shrugs and sniffs once. “After a while, you just get used to being treated like that, even by people who care about you. You don’t even hold it against them, you just expect it.”

Tony frowns. “You shouldn’t—” he starts, his voice hard and Bruce braces for anger. Even righteous anger can be hard to take; he’s felt enough of it to last a lifetime. But instead of a rant, Tony checks himself, and his voice softens. “You don’t have to expect it from me.”

And somehow, that’s the right thing to say, even though Bruce feels like he’s going to start crying again and can do nothing more than nod. It’s such a simple answer, but it’s enough to light a little hope in Bruce’s chest that it could be true, that if Tony can learn to give him the trust he knows he should be worthy of, maybe others can, too. Maybe anything’s possible.

Still, Tony is who Tony is, and he has a predictable fallback during difficult emotional times—he gives a mischievous smile.

“Hey, Bruce. I’m gonna give you an order.”

The tightness in Bruce’s throat eases a little at that, and he quirks an eyebrow, thankful for Tony’s levity. “Go on.”

“Strip,” Tony says. “Then get under these covers with me.”

They both break into laughter, and share another kiss.

“Yes, sir,” says Bruce, making Tony laugh again. He gets up and gets undressed, then crawls back into bed with Tony.

They lie together for a while in silence.

“Tonight’s complications aside, I really liked this. Do you think we could try it again?” Tony asks.

“Definitely. ” 

“All that double checking that I would use  _ my _ safeword if I needed it, we forgot to double check about you. Why didn’t you use yours?”

Bruce ponders that. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to ruin things for such a stupid reason.”

“Mm.” Tony raises his eyebrows and gives Bruce a pointed look. “You wanted to power through, because you could see how much fun I was having?”

“Point taken,” says Bruce, chuckling at having his own words used against him.

“Lucky for me,” Tony says with a smirk, “I can have fun just doing this...” 

And as Tony wraps him up in his arms and leans in for a kiss, Bruce feels that truly, he is the lucky one.

**Author's Note:**

> I have decided, for better or worse, to keep up with the geeky titles throughout this series. “Chain termination” in chemistry is the abrupt halt of the polymerization chemical reaction. Tony’s not exactly _chained_ in this fic, but he is bound, and he does use his safeword to “terminate” it, so it sort of fits lol.
> 
> The inspiration for using shibari in this fic came from the fabulous fic [Play](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20396062/chapters/48377749) by ellewrites.
> 
> P.S. I know this has a less-than-satisfactory ending to what was set up to be a pretty sexy scene, but never fear, I have many future plans to get these boys laid in this series 😂


End file.
